Generic apparatus for the continuous inclination adjustment of a pivotable component part of a vehicle are already known from the prior art, in particular with respect to armrests on a vehicle seat.
For example, an armrest with an inclination adjustment means, which comprises an armrest body pivotable in a settable manner about a horizontal axle between a raised and a lowered position, is known from the European Patent Specification EP 1 530 523 B1. The armrest body has associated with it a self-locking gear mechanism which locks only during the downward swivel and which has a primary part which is connected in a rotatable manner to the armrest body and which is rotatable about the horizontal axle and with which a secondary part—held in a rotatably fixed manner at least to a limited extent with respect to the horizontal axle co-operates.
In this case the self-locking gear mechanism embodies means for locking different angles of inclination in a first pivoting direction of the armrest body.
The self-locking gear mechanism has associated with it a control device which is designed in the form of a means for discontinuing the locking and which in the raised position and at the beginning of the downward swivel of the armrest body separates the primary part and the secondary part from each other and in the region of the lowered position sets them in engagement with each other again, in which case the primary part and the secondary part form sets of spur gears facing one another and arranged coaxially with the axle substantially in the manner of a spur-gear coupling, and the primary part or the secondary part is axially movable, and in which case the control device setting the primary part and the secondary part in or out of engagement forms at least one control cam rotating with the primary part or at least one control path rotating with the primary part and, correlating with it, at least one control path fixed with respect to the secondary part or at least one control cam fixed with respect to the secondary part.
In this case at least one compression spring presses the sets of spur gears of the primary part and the secondary part against each other, and an abutment prevented from being shifted axially on the axle limits an axial displacement of the primary part or of the secondary part, the primary part being arranged in an axially fixed manner on the axle and the secondary part being arranged in a movable manner on the axle, the abutment being arranged on the side remote from the set of spur gears of the secondary part, and the at least one compression spring being arranged between the secondary part and the abutment.
Despite a space-saving design the armrest withstands even high loads by means of the inclination adjustment means described above and thus permits a reliable operation. However, the inclination adjustment means still has a relatively complicated design.